


Much Tweeting About Crushing

by Chie (Chierafied)



Series: Fandom Events JL [12]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Muggle, Crushes, F/M, Fluff and Humor, Neighbors, One Shot, Originally Posted on Tumblr, Social Media
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-04
Updated: 2018-12-04
Packaged: 2019-09-07 03:43:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16846453
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chierafied/pseuds/Chie
Summary: James has a hopeless crush on his neighbour and tweets about it, which is fine. Until Evans follows him.





	Much Tweeting About Crushing

**Author's Note:**

> Jilychallenge September 2017.

James blinked at the grey cat curled in the middle of his bed.

The cat stared back at him, seeming to dismiss him at the same time.

Feeling confused and just a little surreal, James did the only fathomable thing: fumbled for the smartphone tucked in the back pocket of his jeans and pulled it out.

The cat studiously ignored him as he snapped a picture, then clicked to share it on Twitter.

James’ fingers skimmed across the screen to furiously type a tweet.

The cat yawned.

 

The doorbell rang and James hastily pocketed his phone; glared at the cat who didn’t as much as twitch.

James shook his head as he made his way downstairs, tugged at his hair as he pulled open the front door.

And then stared slack-jawed at the gorgeous redhead wringing her hands at his doorstep.

“Hi,” she said, flashing him a nervous smile.

“Hi,” James echoed, his fingers jumping to his hair again.

He was staring. Had she noticed he was staring? God, he hoped not.

“So… I just moved to one of the flats next door,” she said, “like three, four days ago…”

“Oh. Right. Cool,” James said, suave as ever as his attention wandered between her captivating green eyes and the full lip she was biting.

“And, well…” She sighed, shrugged her shoulders. “My cat’s gone missing. Have you seen him? He’s grey and –”

James held up his hand. “There was a cat on my bed when I came home. Pretty sure he’s yours. Must’ve left my window open or something…”

A true, brilliant smile bloomed on the woman’s lips.

James’ breath caught.

“Really? He’s here?”

James nodded and made room in the doorway. “Right here.”

He turned and started to go up the stairs, painfully aware that this fit neighbour was both in his house and following him to his  _bedroom_.

She squealed as they reached it, quickly crossing over to James’ bed to scoop up the cat.

“Don’t you go wandering again,” she spoke sternly, wagging a finger in the cat’s disinterested furry face. “You had me worried sick!”

She turned, the cat in her arms, and gave James another heart-stuttering smile. “Thank you so much. And I’m really sorry about all this, I hope he didn’t bother you –”

“Ah, don’t worry about it. He wasn’t trouble, really, more like a source of confusion. I’m glad I could help.”

He grinned at her, hoping he managed to look charming.

“Welcome to the neighbourhood.”

The woman’s cheeks flushed in embarrassment. “Oh, I didn’t even introduce myself. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be, you were preoccupied.” James held out his hand. “I’m James Potter by the way.”

She shifted the cat in her arms to free her hand, grasped his.

Her skin felt both warm and soft and something in the pit of James’ stomach fluttered.

“I’m Lily Evans. Nice to meet you.”

“Charmed,” he managed, vaguely aware that he was grinning again, probably looking more like a loon than a proper Prince Charming.

“Well, thanks again, and sorry for the trouble. We will just get out of your hair.”

She turned to leave and James followed her back downstairs.

“Yeah. Okay. See you around?” He winced at that hopeful lilt in his voice. She hadn’t noticed, had she?

She paused in the doorway and smiled, and James stopped caring.

“See you,” she said.

He lingered there for a moment, letting his gaze trail after her until he realised he was staring again.

James shook his head and firmly closed the door.

His fingers trembled a little as he dug out his phone. He typed out another tweet while his mind was still busy playing over the encounter.

 

 

James went to put the phone away, then paused. After a second of hesitation, he typed out another tweet. 

 

James turned off the screen and put the phone away.

 

 

* * *

 

For the next two days, James found his thoughts straying back to his neighbour. She had been gorgeous, yes, but also so nice and sweet and… God, he was really pathetic, wasn’t he?

“Smitten” was the word Sirius had gleefully flung in his face when he’d met his friends over a pint and told them about Lily Evans and her cat.  

And now, James had a sinking suspicion that was exactly what he was, because he’d wasted half the work day either thinking about Evans or trying to make up some believable excuse to go knocking on her door so he could see her again.

He sat on the couch, clicked Netflix on the TV and tried his best to immerse himself in an old favourite show because he really needed to not think about his neighbour for a while.

He was half-way into the episode when the doorbell rang. James jumped out of his seat and rushed to the door.

When he reached the door, cool irritation drowned and killed the eager hope bubbling within. Anyone could be behind his door so why had his thoughts immediately jumped to Evans?

He was still mentally chastising himself when he pulled open the door.

The sight of his beautiful, red-haired neighbour offering him a hesitant smile was a jolt to James’ system. His heart jumped as he stared at her.

“Hi.” Her voice was as sweet as her smile.

His mouth had gone dry, and he had to clear his throat. “Hey there.”

“I’m sorry to bother you again…” she began, squirmed a little on the spot.

“I doubt you could be a bother if you tried,” James said, his brain too frazzled to even try to play it cool.

The corner of her lips quirked. Amusement flashed in those captivating green eyes. “Careful, I didn’t even plead my case yet.”

That sparkle of humour and teasing lilt in her voice had James’ stomach plummet all the way to his wobbly knees.

Blimey, how could she be so perfect?

“Go on, then,” James said. “I’m all ears.”

“Well, I got some new furniture earlier today. Had a friend help me get started putting it all together but she had to go and I’ve been at it for hours and am going cross-eyed at the instructions…”

A grin rose to James’ lips. He could just picture her, biting her lip while those green eyes darkened in frustration.

He stuffed his hands into his pockets. “Assembling furniture has that effect on people.”

“Yeah.” She grimaced. “So, at the risk of sounding like a bloody damsel in distress… I could use some help.”

James was beaming at her. “Well, now, how could I say no to that?”

She returned the smile, her shoulders slumping a little in relief. “Great.”

James grabbed for his keys from a side table and was out of his door, following her to the neighbouring townhouse.

 

* * *

 

 

He returned several hours later, a goofy grin on his lips and a stumble in his step. It had been an interesting evening, he mused to himself as he stopped before his front door to fumble with his keys. 

Lily had managed to put together the dining table and chairs with her friend but had lost her patience with the bedside table. James had let out a few choice words himself as he had struggled between the instructions and the actual assembling. The bookcase had been much easier, though it had taken the both of them to finally prop it up against her bedroom wall.

James shut the door, tossed the keys back to the side table. He plodded through his house, raking his hand through his hair. He definitely was smitten as Sirius had said; no female he’d harboured feelings for had ever had him so neatly wrapped.

If only he could tell how she felt about him. She’d been perfectly friendly and they’d shared more than a few laughs and even two glasses of wine when the furniture was finally in one piece and in its place. But he just couldn’t glean if there was any hope for something more…

James grabbed his phone from the sitting room coffee table, then headed upstairs to his bedroom.

* * *

 

 

It was a very nice day, James decided as he deposited the rubbish into the bin. Warm, but not too warm; cloudy, but not in a gloomy way. He should go jogging later if it stayed like this.

Lost in thought, he didn’t see her until she called out with a cheery “Hi!”

James turned, a smile immediately rising to his lips as he saw his neighbour.

“All right, Evans?”

She stopped beside him on the pavement. “I’m fine, how’re you?”

“Fine, thanks.” James scrambled for something more to say, and in a classic small talk fashion, defaulted to weather. “It’s a nice day.”

She flashed him a smile. “Yeah, I was getting sick of all the rain earlier this week. Glad to see the sun’s still up there.”

James laughed.

It might have been her appearance that had initially attracted him to her – and he still found her every bit as gorgeous as she had been when they’d first met – but now that he was actually getting to know her, little by little, it was her sense of humour that reeled him in, had him falling deeper.

He tried to adopt a casual pose. “How’s the cat?”

“He’s being his charming self.” Lily paused and shook her head. “Woke me up at 3 AM last night. He was sick on my carpet.”

“Ouch.” James grimaced. “I’m suddenly very glad I don’t own a cat.”

She laughed, the lovely sound causing wild flutters to erupt in James’ stomach.

“They can be a handful,” she agreed, “but I wouldn’t know what to do without him.”

“Must be nice to have the company.”

“Yeah. It really is.”

James nodded down at the bags Lily was carrying. “Got some shopping done, eh?”

She glanced at the bags, then met his eyes. “Yeah. My wardrobe needed some updating. Moving is a real hassle, but it gives you the perfect opportunity to sort through your things, don’t you think?”

“Definitely. You never realise how all this stuff just accumulates in the cupboards you never open…”

“I know. I threw out so many useless things you wouldn’t believe.” Lily rolled her eyes.

“You’ve settled in all right?” James asked next.

“Yeah, yeah I have.” She smiled, and her green eyes sparkled. “I love this neighbourhood. And the house is great, really beautiful. I mean I know I only have a basement flat since that’s all I can afford right now… But I just love the atmosphere, this historic vibe.”

“Glad to hear you like it here,” James replied.

And he was glad. Her enthusiasm was captivating, and he couldn’t help the grin tugging at his lips.

“Well, I should go and put my new clothes away.” Evans grinned back at him. “See you around!”

“Yeah,” he called after her. “See you!”

He really, really hoped he would, as often as possible.

James went inside. Then fumbled for his phone and opened the Twitter app, punched in a tweet as he whistled off-key.

 

 

* * *

 

 

James had barely got through the door and shrugged off his coat when the doorbell rang. He turned with a frown, ran his hand through his hair and opened the door.

His heart jumped at the sight of his neighbour.

“Hullo,” Evans greeted him, smiling that gorgeous smile that stole James’ breath away.

“Hi,” he said, certain that the grin rising to his own lips was on the side of goofy.

Evans shuffled her feet. “I hope I’m not intruding…?”

“No,” James hurried to reply. “Not at all.”

“It’s September so I decided it’s time for an apple pie,” she said, glancing at the pie in her arms. “Only I realised I’m probably not gonna be able to finish it all by myself. And since you’ve been so great and welcoming and helped me with the furniture back in July… I figured I owed you baked goods.”

“You don’t owe me anything, but I won’t turn down baked goods.” James grinned again and stepped aside. “Come in, please.”

“Cheers.” Evans came in, and James shut the door.

“Make yourself at home,” he said, glad he’d just cleaned up a few days ago. “I’ll go put the kettle on.”

Instead, Evans followed him into the kitchen, set her pie on the counter and then stood watching him putter around.

“Can I give you a hand?”

“I appreciate the offer,” James said and glanced over his shoulder at her. “But my mum would skin me alive if I let a guest help.”

She laughed. “All right. I’ll have a seat then.”

“Please do.”

James got out mugs and plates and spoons and set the table while the water boiled. He had to keep busy to distract himself from the fact that the woman he adored was sitting at his kitchen table, just a few sparse yards away.

He begged his racing hard to calm down as he filled the teapot.

And then there was no more stalling. The table was set, the tea brewed, the pie waiting to be cut.

He sat down at the table, hoping against hope he wouldn’t spend the whole time staring at her like a lovesick loon.

He poured her tea, while she sat patiently across from him.

She arched her brow, humour flickering in her eyes.

“You mum really did teach you well, I see,” she commented as he set in front of her the plate with the slice of pie he’d cut for her.

“I was not the best of students, but she was very particular about manners.”

“I find it a bit weird to just sit and wait and not help out… But I guess it’s also nice to be a guest when the host is such a gentleman.”

“As long as you don’t tell anyone else,” he said. ”I’ve worked too hard for my troublemaker image to have it all ruined now.”

“Troublemaker? You?”

“Evans, you have no idea.”

She cradled the mug in her hands, her green eyes brilliant and trained on him. “Enlighten me, then.”

So he did, and they talked and laughed and ate and drank… and James couldn’t help wondering what it would be like, to share evenings at the small table with her, day after day.

After Evans left, he collapsed onto the couch and pulled out his phone, typing up a tweet even as his heart was close to bursting.

 

 

* * *

 

 

After a long and busy week, James was looking forward to a quiet Friday night at home. It was closer to six PM when he got home, his feet dragging a little as he trudged upstairs to his bedroom to change his clothes. He came back down decked comfortably in pyjama bottoms and an old worn t-shirt and headed to the kitchen. He heated up yesterday’s leftovers, then grabbed the plate and walked right past the kitchen table.

He plopped on the couch, flicked on the telly and kicked back.

It was some time later, after he’d gone to take the dishes back to the kitchen but before he started on a new episode of the series he was intent on binging, when he grabbed his phone from the coffee table to quickly check any messages or notifications.

There was one routine Twitter notification in his email inbox that James barely glanced at – then stopped when the name registered in his brain. Heart leaping into his throat, he did a double-take… And swallowed thickly as his world screeched to halt.

“Shit,” he managed, staring helplessly at the e-mail.

“Fuck. Shit.”

James’ fingers were numb and trembling as he raked them through his messy hair. What had his latest tweet been again? Something sappy and stupid about her smile…

He squeezed his eyes shut, forced himself to remember.

Yeah… it had been sappy and stupid, as Sirius had been quick to point out, but at least James hadn’t mentioned Evans by name.

He zeroed in on that silver lining, his brow furrowed in concentration. He didn’t think he’d ever actually mentioned her by name. That was good. He could work with that.

Although early on he had made those tweets about his fit neighbour…

_Shit_. James grimaced.

Evans was quick and clever. She’d put two and two together in a heartbeat.

He was so busted.

Unless…

A wild sudden hope dawned amidst all the panic.

Now that James thought about it, he hadn’t mentioned even the neighbour-thing in a while. So unless Evans scrolled through months of tweets, his secret would be safe.

And she would have to be seriously invested to bother to wade through all that.

He doubted she’d go through the trouble, so she wouldn’t figure it out all those tweets were about her.

…Right?

The doorbell rang.

James jumped, clenched his jaw. His knees felt a little weak when he got up, his heart beating erratically in his chest as he made his way to the door.

His fingers clutched at the doorknob like a lifeline, dread pooled and built into a crescendo as he turned it.

James pulled the door open.

The panic was still bubbling at the back of his mind, but his face eased into a smile.

Evans looked the same as always, the dark red hair, green eyes, the bright energy stamping each feature.

A rush of warmth and giddy excitement flooded him as it always did at the sight of her.

He had just enough time to notice the gleam in her eyes. Then her slender hand fisted in the front of his T-shirt and  _yanked_.

More than that sudden jerk of her hand, it was the feel of her lips crashing against his in a kiss as hot as it was demanding that staggered him.

His heart burst and he melted into the kiss, responded to it with great pent-up enthusiasm.

James panted for breath when they finally pulled apart, his hazel eyes glazed.

Evans watched him, her eyes dancing with the same mirth curling her lips.

“How hard would it have been,” she said, her amused voice just a little breathy, “to say something to  _me_  in between all that tweeting?”

James ignored her teasing question in favour of tenderly cupping her cheek.

Then, he smothered her smile by pulling her into another kiss.

 

 


End file.
